DAY 1
D included
Meeting at Kirkwall airport in the afternoon, we have a 15-minute transfer to the city and our comfortable central 3 star hotel converted from a 17th century town house. As a welcome drink, we may sample one of nearly 500 whiskies offered by the hotel’s bar, including Orkney single malts.
DAY 2
B, L, D included
After a rich Scottish breakfast served in the hotel’s garden view restaurant, we head south by road. Near St. Margaret’s Hope, we walk around Hoxa Head and the remains of two WWII gun batteries (1.75 miles/2.7 km). We then drive to the southern tip of South Ronaldsay for lunch and a short cliff-top walk. On our return drive, we stop at the Churchill Barriers and the remarkable Italian Chapel built by Italian prisoners of war working on the barriers’ construction.
DAY 3
B, L, D included
We walk through the current hotspot of British Neolithic archaeology, starting from the Standing Stones of Stenness, past the Ness of Brodgar excavations, to the Ring of Brodgar (2.75 miles/4.5 km). Our morning ends with a tour of the Chambered Cairn of Maeshowe. After lunch, we take an interesting stroll through the streets of Stromness and follow a coastal path affording spectacular views of the Island of Hoy (2.5 miles/4 km). Our 3-star hotel in Stromness offers a popular restaurant, featuring dishes such as scallops in citrus butter or Orkney steak and Orkney ale pie.
DAY 4
B, L, D included
The small island of Rousay is home to 200 people and over 160 archaeological sites. Having crossed from the Mainland by ferry (20 mins), we begin our day visit with a 3.25 mile/5.25 km walk on the banks of Eynhallow Sound, packed with important remains including a mediaeval ceremonial hall and farm, and a church abandoned in the 19th century, when it started sliding into the sea. The walk concludes with a visit to the impressive Neolithic Midhowe Cairn; and the Iron Age Midhowe Broch. After lunch, we walk down a quiet lane towards the loch of Wasbister on the opposite side of the island with views (weather permitting) of Westray island to the north (2 miles/3 km).
DAY 5
B, L, D included
In Houton, we board the ferry to Lyness on Hoy. In the dramatic scenery of Northern Hoy, we walk to the Dwarfie Stane rock-cut tomb, then drive to remote Rackwick Bay, where we picnic on the beach and later enjoy a short walk (1.5 miles/2.5 km). On our return to Mainland, we stop at the Orkneyinga Saga Centre in Orphir. This narrative of the Orkney Islands’ history, from their capture by the Norwegian king in the 9th century until about 1200, was written by an unknown Icelandic author at the beginning of the 13th century. Our accommodation for the next 3 nights is a charming old-fashioned country-house style hotel near Kirkwall.
DAY 6
B, L, D included
Our walk (7 km/4.5 miles) takes us to the Deerness Peninsula in the east of Mainland. The spectacular cliff scenery includes the Gloup, a collapsed deep sea cave separated from the sea by a broad arch, and the Brough of Deerness, a sea stack with remains of an ancient settlement. In Kirkwall, we explore the 12th century St. Magnus Cathedral built from the same local sandstone used by the Neolithic inhabitants of the islands, and the nearby remains of the impressive Earl’s and Bishop’s Palaces. We dine in a renowned restaurant specialising in dishes made from seasonal Orkney produce, including the freshest seafood, from the islands’ pristine waters, and beef and lamb from local farms.
DAY 7
B, L, D included
Our final day begins with a gentle coastal walk near Birsay on the NW coast (1.5 miles/2.5 km) and a visit to the incongruous ruins of the 16th century Earl’s Palace. Later we walk around Marwick Head, to the clifftop memorial commemorating Earl Kitchener and the HMS Hampshire crew lost in 1916, looking out for seabirds nesting on the cliffs below us. In the afternoon, we visit Skara Brae, the best-preserved Neolithic village in Western Europe, uncovered in 1850, when violent storms erased the sands that had covered this Orcadian Pompeii for thousands of years.
DAY 8
B included
Our journey concludes with a morning transfer to the airport.